31 BULAN 8, 57

The Malaysian flag, also known as the Jalur Gemilang (Stripes of Glory), and the Malaysian coat of arms are symbols of the nation’s stateliness and sovereignty. The Government encourages the flying of the Jalur Gemilang particularly during the Month of Independence in August as an expression of love, loyalty and pride for the country.

The Malaysian flag or Jalur Gemilang consists of 14 horizontal red and white stripes of equal width (along the fly), representing the 13 component States and the Federal Government.

The canton of dark blue in the upper quarter next to the staff and extending down to the top of the fifth stripe stands for the unity of the people of Malaysia. The union contains a crescent which symbolises Islam, the official religion of Malaysia.

The 14 points of the star signify the unity of the 13 states with the Federal Government. The colour yellow signifies the royal colour of the Rulers.

I bump into this comments from the stars when i was looking for malaysian flag to be pasted here in conjunction to our49th birthdayof Malaysia

http://blog.thestar.com.my/permalink.asp?id=5603

http://blog.thestar.com.my/comments.asp?id=5745

It is about weather or not you are patriotic enough if u raise up a flag/flags from your car/house/shops/office due to our Merdeka month. And i agree to some opinions.

When I was small, during Merdeka Day celebration i looked forward to watch the marches on the street of Dataran Merdeka and the highlight of the day is when the jets roaring out from the sky. Only watch the TV - from very early in the morning till afternoon -watch till penat (tired)- and then the tv programs would have circus shows and special holiday cartoons. Then wheni grew up to a teenager - confession - I rather sleep!

But nowadays as i have kids i will make sure they watch the marches just like when I was small - kids - they love to watch people marching with uniforms, beautiful clothes, and then theres vehicles like firetrucks, army tanks etc and so my kids makes me patriotic again. They love the flags - they love to wave the flags..but then how do i make them not be like me who'd rather sleep on that day when i was a teenager? and i can bet youngsters nowadays and years to come will celebrate the merdeka eve in pubs/discos - hmm..who to blame.. well yeah - the govt needs to do something about it - slowly but surely - gaining back the spirit to all.

Semangat patriotisme in me usually raiseup when we participate in an International games/sports. I rarely sang the national anthem as I work on my own and I am not a member of an association ( btw i lurve the way they did the new version of our national anthem on TV - where celebrities sang it ). Nevertheless I agree that we should have the flags in whatever ways car stickers or the flag during the August month to show some percentage of patriotisme - let it be buat-buat (show off) even - thats a little effort for our country - for us , not for others..The meaning of Merdeka for our old folks is so valuable - we as the next generation should say our thanks by just the little effort .

PROUD TO BE MALAYSIAN

PEACE